Thoughts about our gardening group

I am still growing my own food as much as possible. 

I am still learning tons about how 40 years of doing 

something changes it and you.

  The Gourmet Gardening Group

 has disbanded.

This seems to be a very in-active blog.

YES

It's 2014 and there are now millions of blogs

I have no desire to compete 

I am just a grower of food with only the desire to keep 

doing that very thing.  

So what do you think...shall I keep this blog going?

I was in Harare, Zimbabwe In November/Dec.

It was once the bread basket of Africa.

There are many farmers in the population

but because of an unwise (I'm being careful)

leader there are no longer farms. 

 There are now little vegetable plots.  

They sell their product on the side of the road

or walk between cars

 (lots of broken lights

mean lots of time in traffic)

You can smell the peaches as they walk by your window

Yes we bought some!

I bring this up because food made a big impression on me

as I traveled around Africa.  

If you can't grow your own food and big companies take the rights

to your seeds and only momocrops are grown one day we could be

in just as serious a condition as those wonderful people of Zimbabwe.

And I'm now talking about the good ole U.S.A

Shouldn't we each know how to grow a little fresh food for ourselves?

Bartlett Pears

I'm watching my pears trees,
 my mouth is watering but it is
 an act of patience.

Bartlett pears have to be taken off the tree and ripened in a cool place.  

The perfect time approaches.  Here in the Bothell/Woodinville area

it is sometime between the last week of Aug and the first week of Sept. 

People walk by my trees and ask why I'm not picking anything.

I have to tell them there is a time for each tree.  Apples in the fall and 

pears late summer.  They don't always believe me and will pick something

I hope they find it very sour indeed.  

So watch for loose stems when you lift up on a pear and if anything is falling

 now you might be too late 

so harvest that whole tree RIGHT NOW

 I'll be picking mine in a couple of days

Did you plant some seeds?

The last two weeks were warm!

We broke records for May.

After our classes did you remember how warmth 

cuts down on the time of a seed to sprout?

I planted my beans earlier than I usually do

It was warm and they won't be sitting in the cold wet ground

Beans won't sprout even at 50 degrees but give them

68 degrees and they will sprout in Eleven days

Give a bean seed 77 degrees and they sprout in eight days.

Can you see why I don't plant them in May usually?

Now is a choice time.  Plant like crazy.

Put a scoop of compost in the spot and plant a seed today!

It will rain this week-end and then warm up again.

Think I'll go put some cucumber seeds in!

Getting you started on a new fruit tree

Now is the time!

Buy a couple of fruit trees and grow them

along a fence, a building, a wall. 

  It's not hard to do but MUST 

be started in a young tree.

It's not a big project

prepare the supports and 

Just do the follow up trimming and tying 

and you will have fruit in not too many years.

 Click to enlarge and save

This is not a new way to grow fruit trees

In fact it is very old 

and these directions came out

of 

a very old sunset book. 

Apples trees usually are trimmed with only 5 main branches

so this is a logical use for apples.  

Consider plum, and pears also, though

any fruit tree can be trained this way.

You need to buy your tree in it's first or early second year in order

to start with a pliable tree.

Start with a sturdy support, all ready to go.  

You will not want to be building around the training plant.

Yes this takes 5 to 10 years to get smoothly trained but so 

do the big trees!

So with a couple of fruit trees, a couple of blue berry

plants and a few pots of veggies you have an

instant start to gardening.

Blue berries need another bush that blooms when it does,

Early with Early

Mid season with Mid season

Late with Late season.

There can be some cross over of seasons with success.

Pears need another pear tree to produce. 

Enjoy

growing potatoes in cans and having problems

It was time for more potato cans... 

We have been growing potatoes in 2 very old plastic trash 

cans for so many years they are 

falling apart. 

This spring I bought several new plastic cans.

Cheap ones (by today's standards).

They were deeper, heavier and as I thought built to 

last many potato harvests down the road.

WHAT A SHOCK!

Look at what is happening.

The light blue/gray can is an old one, it is thin and lots of light comes through it.

 The potatoes are growing as they should be.

The black or very dark green can in the back ground was planted the same day as 

all three cans were.  It was perhaps warmer being black.  However it is not

growing well at all.  The wall are thick and didn't allow the sun through in the early 

growing of the potatoes.

The lighter green can is new also, in the foreground, the plants are so small

they are still not growing well. 

 Thick plastic not good I'm thinking. 

This is the can that is not growing well they are barely 1/3 the way up the can. Sad!

Oh look at this gray can, my very oldest one. 

it is growing so very well!  Oh to have more old cans.  

All potatoes were planted the same day and in the same way!

My suggestion, keep them in a warm place.  I've moved all the

cans to the cement patio in the sun.. They still won't grow as well.

Maybe if you beat me to the local garage sells you'll find 

some old thin plastic cans.  

Once again  SAD

OCT 2012 UPDATE

All the potatoes are harvested.  Some very nice ones but clearly 
the heavy trash cans had much smaller potatoes.   It's good to hear
Kevin has had success near warm stones and metal containers.

My Helpers

How to eat from a home garden

When you consider price, work, weather, bugs etc

 gardening can seem very un-necessary.

Why would I be so driven to grow my own food when I can buy it in the store?

1) The taste of home grown food can not in any way compare to the store bought

2) When it comes to variety home grown can beat store bought hands down

3) fresh, nothing can be fresher than a pre-dinner walk to gather your supplies for dinner.

4) harvest when the food is perfectly ripe has to be my favorite reason home gardens are wonderful.

In thinking about the above list let me add some things for you to consider.  

We do not need to let our home grown plants
 get the size of store bought. 

 We are so lucky to be able to harvest our food when it is young and tasty.

If you wait for your produce to get as large as store bought

 you'll miss out on the yummy taste that is possible.

Here are some examples:

Peas as soon as formed are better than large peas

lettuce cut from the outside of a plant, leaving the plant to keep growing is tender and sweet

Bush beans are wonderful when only 4 inches long

Carrots are sweet and tasty when not too old

Spinach collected a few small leaves at a time make perfectly heavenly salads

Beet greens taken young are very tender as is kale and chard leaves.

Zucchini is perfect at 6 inches long

beets that are the size of golf ball roast in the oven so nicely

Some plants that do need more time to be fully grown are

Potatoes

Tomatoes,

Peppers

winter squash

eggplant

Garlic

storing onions

They each have signs that show they are ready to eat.

Potatoes need to bloom and die down

Garlic needs to have some warmth to form a bulb 

and then they will dry to about 4 leaves left before harvest

Peppers can get bigger before harvest and be wonderful and juicy

Eggplant need some bulk to be good

Onions can be harvested small, med or large.  They need some dry weather and

the greens to die back....press them over when the onions decide to flower.  

I think we all agree that tomatoes are better when they get red, 

or orange or yellow, anything

except green!

A very good habit to make is to walk through the garden every 

day when planning your evening meal.  

You will learn to eat from all that is in your home garden and become a garden Gourmet.

How to grow and harvest lettuce in the PNW

Another post on eating what you grow at it's very best

Lettuce

It is really wonderful here in the Pacific Northwest

The damp weather keeps the lettuce from getting bitter.

The long cool late Springs and summers keeps our lettuce 

from bolting to seed.  We really do get a long season 

for growing lettuce.  Yum Yum

You may do your lettuce differently here.

I plant them closely

I collect leaves from the bottom of all the plants

that usually makes one salad bowl in our house. 

Lettuce will keep growing and making more leaves. 

I don't replant lettuce until my fall/winter lettuce types go in the ground. 

I just keep harvesting off the plants I have. 

I stepped out between rain showers 

to collect the photos in this posting. 

Rain as hard as we have been getting beats

lettuce down.  I have my salad box covered for now.

You can see the spaces where I have harvested leaves off the

plants.  You couldn't see the dirt anywhere in the

box a couple of days ago.

Be sure and clean off any leaves that go yellow, limp or have too many bug nibbles.

Keeping the plants looking healthy makes me want to collect and enjoy of greens.

Lettuce is wonderful for taco/s, burritos, salads of course and sandwiches. 

I plant chives and beets and parsley in my salad box also. 

HINT:  regular watering will keep the lettuce from being bitter.

If it warms up you'll need to move your salad table into the shade

and keep it moist.

Enjoy!  I do

Some of my favorite types of lettuce to plant:

I like Ed Humes Gourmet blend it has Buttercrunch, Grand Rapids, Red Sails Parris Island Romaine

Territorial seed carries a nice mix: London Springs and I recommend their Super Gourmet salad blend. 

Because lettuce grows here so easily I put lots of color in my lettuce.  My favorites change here are some that never change: Trouts back, Devils tongue, Italienischer, green Deer Tongue,